What the Addition of Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut Means the Cavaliers

The Cavaliers Have Changed the Playing Field, Big Time.

Wow. Besides the addition of Kevin Durant by the Warriors over the summer, is there anyone better at trades/free agency than Cleveland Cavaliers GM David Griffin? Adding Kyle Korver, Andrew Bogut, Derrick Williams, and Deron Williams in exchange for Mike Dunleavy and a first round pick, locking up Kevin Love, adding JR Smith and Iman Shumpert, signing Derrick Williams, the list goes on and on. The addition of the the four new players this season (both Deron and Derrick Williams, Bogut, and Korver) has not only added depth, but has made the job easier for players like LeBron and Kyrie.

The tie breaker many expect in June between the Warriors and Cavaliers is all many NBA fans are anticipating in what I like to call the “rough patch” of the NBA season, where nothing besides the playoffs seems interesting. The Cavaliers would be in the best position to win the 2017 NBA Championship if the playoffs started today, now that Kevin Durant is out for at least the next four weeks. Let us evaluate:

Cleveland Cavaliers Projected Roster:

G Kyrie Irving

G JR Smith

F LeBron James

F Kevin Love

C Tristan Thompson

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Iman Shumpert

Deron Williams

Andrew Bogut

Kyle Korver

Channing Fyre

Richard Jefferson

Derrick Williams

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Reserves:

DeAndre Liggins

Kay Felder

James Jones

Golden State Warriors Projected Roster:

G Stephen Curry

G Klay Thompsonn

F Andre Iguodala

F Kevin Durant

C Draymond Green

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Zaza Pachulia

JaVale McGee

Matt Barnes

Kevon Looney

David West

Ian Clark

Shawn Livingston

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Reserves:

Damian Jones

James Michael McAdoo

Patrick McCaw

Flickr/ via daveiba

Just looking at the names above, and the stats they have put on the board this season, I could see the Cavaliers winning this series in as little as five games. The Warriors do have a good team, but when it would come to the NBA Finals, only seven or eight of the players on the active roster would see any play time in the Finals. Looking at the Cavalier roster, the only players I would be skeptic about is Derrick Williams (as far as the active roster goes), but even that could change. The Cavaliers keep growing for the better of the team, and in my opinion, the Warriors getting rid of a majority of their bench for Kevin Durant was not a wise decision, unless the big four wants to play 46 minutes a game, something has to change for them to beat the Cavaliers.